


Nobody needs to know.

by everydaytomholland



Series: Pangs [3]
Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man - All Media Types
Genre: Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Angst, Canonical Character Death, Child Abuse, Drug Use, Dubious Consent, Emotional Manipulation, Grooming, M/M, Non-Consensual Drug Use, Panic Attacks, Peter Parker Needs a Hug, Sexual Abuse, Tony Stark Has A Heart
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-15
Updated: 2018-09-15
Packaged: 2019-07-12 10:35:08
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con, Underage
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,817
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15993422
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/everydaytomholland/pseuds/everydaytomholland
Summary: A different take on how Skip Westcott abused Peter Parker. Read the tags.





	Nobody needs to know.

**Author's Note:**

> This is probably the darkest thing I've ever written? I don't even remember how the idea popped into my head but then I couldn't not write it. Take caution though, this shiz is intense.
> 
> Title comes from a song from my favourite musical; The Last Five Years by Jason Robert Brown.
> 
> Enjoy?

Peter met Skip when he was 8 years old. 

Skip was 11 and for some reason, he wanted to be friends with Peter.

Peter didn’t really understand it, no one at school ever wanted to be his friend because he was weird. He liked Skip though, even if he went to a different school. He was glad he finally had a friend. 

May and Ben were so glad that Peter had found a friend. They knew that he was a sweet kid and would come into his own eventually, but that didn’t mean they weren’t worried that he’d be emotionally stunted or something from not having friends. So they were really glad to have met Skip.

Skip was a mature kid, so it was convenient to have him babysit Peter on occasion. They didn’t pay him but they did pay for snacks and dinner so it worked out. And, as a bonus, Peter didn’t feel like he was being babysat, he was just hanging out with his best friend, so it helped with his confidence. 

Peter liked that Skip was the only one who didn’t treat him like a little kid. Skip liked it when Peter showed off how smart he was. 

May and Ben really liked that they could rely on Skip so often, so they took up the opportunity more and more, indulging in date nights and weekends away. This upset Peter sometimes, Skip told him not to be too hard on them. They hadn’t wanted kids when they’d had to unexpectedly take Peter in four years ago. Peter had never thought before about how much he had upset their lives; he was too swept up in his own grief. He was glad he had Skip though, Skip didn’t make him feel like he was a burden.

If Ben and May noticed Peter becoming more distant, they didn’t say anything.

Within a year the two boys were inseparable. Especially after what had happened at the Stark Expo. May and Ben weren’t that interested in hearing in hearing about how Iron Man saved his life, they were mad at him for running off and staring down the robot. Skip thought it was cool though; he even told Peter once, weeks later, that he would be even smarter than Tony Stark one day and Peter couldn’t wipe the smile off his face for days. 

Peter had known for basically as long as he could remember that he liked both boys and girls. He’d never really thought it was a big deal before, until he mentioned it casually to May one day and she choked on her coffee before leaving the room. May wasn’t homophobic in the slightest, she was just shocked to hear something so candid coming from her usually reserved nephew; but Peter was only 9 and didn’t understand that. When he tearfully told Skip about it later, the older boy just smiled at him, gave him a big hug and told him it was okay because he liked boys too.

The first time Skip kissed him, Peter had just turned 10 and Skip was 13. It was just a quick peck that left the boys in silent fits of giggles, leaving an unspoken agreement between them to not tell anyone else. It became a thing they did semi regularly after that. Peter was never really that keen on kissing Skip, but it made the older boy really happy; Peter just wanted to make people happy. Occasionally Skip would get too into it and start touching Peter on the inside of his thighs which he definitely did not like but Skip was always good about stopping when Peter got uncomfortable, so he never really dwelled on it.

As Peter got older, he got more and more distant from his Aunt and Uncle; eventually they resigned themselves to having a moody teen in the house and hoped they could have a better relationship as Peter matured. 

The first time Skip gave him alcohol, Peter was nearly 12. Whatever it was burned as Peter drank it but he soon stopped caring. He actually enjoyed making out with Skip for once eventually they were stripped down to just their underwear. When he threw up the next morning, Peter decided he didn’t like alcohol. 

A few months later, not long after Skip turned 16, he wanted them to try a little pill. It wasn’t long before Peter understood why they called it ecstasy. He was far too high to care about what he did with Skip that night. When he woke up the next morning, their naked bodies were tangled together. 

Peter went to Skip’s house almost every weekend, often going home from school with him on a Friday and not returning until Sunday evening. May and Ben were under the impression that they were under the supervision of Skip’s single mother, but in reality, the woman was a high functioning alcoholic and gambler who hid her addictions well; Peter rarely saw her but understood that as far as his aunt and uncle were concerned, she was always around. Peter did have weekends at his own house – both with and without Skip (though they never did anything when they were at Peter’s house) – but Ben and May often took the weekends without Peter as opportunities to get away from the city themselves. More often than not, this only served to confirm to Peter that he really was a burden on them; he always went to Skip for comfort.

Peter never considered them to really having sex. Apart from giving Skip the occasional blowjob, no one was putting anything inside the other, just rubbing against each other. They didn’t go further until just after Peter had turned 14 – at the end of 8th grade for him, last day of junior year for Skip. That night they drank vodka and took 2 ecstasy pills, Peter didn’t really want it but he just felt so good, and if his body was reacting so positively he figured that he must’ve wanted it. 

That summer they went public with their relationship. Of course, they just told everyone they’d just gotten together. May and Ben couldn’t really say they were surprised. They hadn’t been sure of Skip’s sexuality, but they could tell Peter liked him. Neither of them were happy about the age difference between the two boys, but they knew that if they said anything they would only push their nephew further away from them. They enforced a strict open door policy whenever Skip came over, and as far they were aware, it was being enforced by Skip’s mother as well. 

Peter wouldn’t have considered himself addicted to the pills and alcohol that Skip plied him with every time they were together, but he’d be lying if he said he didn’t get a little antsy if he went too long without. 

Peter was really looking forward to high school. As much as he wished he could’ve been going to the same school as Skip, Midtown Tech was basically a school for smart kids and he was looking forward to being challenged at school for once. It helped that he knew Ned was going to be there too. Besides Skip, Ned was the best friend he had. They’d only ever hung out outside of school a handful of times but Ned didn’t seem to mind that he pretty much only saw Peter at school. Ned had only met Skip once and didn’t like him but said nothing out of respect to Peter. 

It was the week after Halloween that Peter was bitten by the spider and his entire life changed. He didn’t know why he didn’t say anything to Skip, he wanted to keep this a secret; especially once he started going out as Spider-Man. 

When Ben died in mid-March, Peter was so wracked with guilt that he tried earnestly to be there for May, even when Skip didn’t understand it. He only lasted two weeks before he realised he didn’t know how to be around his aunt, especially when she was bereaved; and they grew a little further apart. 

Skip had decided to stay in the city for college, insisting he wanted to be around Peter. Peter was just glad he could always count on Skip. 

A spanner was slightly thrown in the works when Tony Stark whisked him away to Germany to fight the rogue Avengers. Skip didn’t want Peter to take the ‘internship’, insisting that Tony Stark didn’t care about a kid like him. But since it provided a convenient cover for patrolling, Peter was adamant. Skip just kissed him and said he was proud of his Einstein.

Peter was scared shitless when Ned accidentally found out his big secret, but the boy became a fast ally – Peter was surprised at how much he liked having someone other than Skip in his corner. When Liz asked Peter to the dance – just as friends, but insisting it was the only way he could make up for missing the academic decathlon – the last thing he expected was for her dad to be the flying vulture guy. But it all worked out in the end. Until May caught him in his Spider-Man suit.

After a brief freak out, and an angry phone call with Tony Stark, May was surprisingly understanding about the whole Spider-Man thing. She had felt so distant from her boy for so long, she was just glad that he’d grown into a man she could be proud of. Though she had to admit she still didn’t love Peter’s relationship with Skip, the boys were together for pretty much every weekend; she was surprised to find out that Peter hadn’t told him his secret identity.

After the whole Vulture incident, Peter had barely heard from Mr Stark (though the man made sure to check in once a week), but once he heard on the news that the Avengers had finally reached an agreement on the Sokovia Accords, he couldn’t say he was surprised. That’s why he was surprised to hear from Mr Stark just after New Years to invite him to a low key party at the compound with all of the Avengers. Peter could barely contain his excitement, even Mr Stark’s one stipulation couldn’t stop him; if he agreed to come, he had to be willing to reveal his identity to the rest of the team. He’d spent almost the entire break in bed with Skip but the older boy wasn’t stupid enough to deny him this opportunity.

The Avengers, everyone except Thor and Banner who were still AWOL, were all varying degrees of mortified when they realised that Peter was only 15 years old (nearly 16, he’d insisted on reminding them). Oddly enough, it was Steve Rogers that broke the tension.  
“You’re telling me I almost had my ass handed to me by a 15 year old? Man, I really need to step up my training.” He said that last part with a chuckle and shook Peter’s hand. The mood lightened considerably after that. 

Soon enough, the drinks started flowing and Peter was told under no uncertain terms that he was not allowed to drink alcohol. But before long Tony, along with pretty much everyone else, was very tipsy. Clint offered to pour Peter a drink and when Peter sipped it, he understood why; it had been spiked with a lot of vodka. Peter looked at Clint who just smirked at him, so Peter decided to have some fun; he smirked back at Clint before chugging the entire thing in one go. Clint was shocked for a moment before bursting into hearty laughter and getting Peter another drink. 

Peter drank often enough, and his increased metabolism helped, that he thought his tolerance was pretty high. It wasn’t. Considering that he always drank with ecstasy in his system, he’d never actually had more than about two standard drinks in one go. And the drinks Clint was making him were strong. 

Though both Tony and Steve weren’t overly impressed with Clint, even they couldn’t deny that they were enjoying watching the drunk 15 year old as much as the rest of the team were.  
“Okay kid, I’m cutting you off, you’ve had enough.” Clint told him.  
“What? No, ‘m fine. We should get some E, that would be so fun!” Peter insisted. Clint just laughed at him.  
“I don’t think you should try anything harder than tequila until you’re at least 21, kid.” He kept laughing.  
“But Skip lets me do it all the time.” Clint froze at this, he could see some other members of the team half listening as well.  
“Who’s Skip?” He asked, trying to remain calm.  
“My boyfriend. He’s in college.” Peter said with a lazy smile.  
“And why is your much older boyfriend giving you ecstasy?” Clint asked, trying to keep the panic out of his voice.  
“Weeeelll, he knows I don’t really like it when we have sex so he gives it to me to make me happy,” Peter doesn’t notice that everyone else has gone quiet, “it’s fine, we’ve been doing it for years.” He doesn’t realise he’s said anything wrong until he hears a glass smash on the ground and sees the horrified look on Tony’s face.  
“Kid,” he asked calmly, trying not to upset the boy, “how old is your boyfriend?”  
“I- he’s 19 but it’s always felt like we’re the same age.” He was shocked to see Natasha of all people burst into to tears.  
“Kid, you’re underage. No matter how old you feel, that’s statutory rape.” Tony was slowly walking to where Peter was, his voice gentle.  
“Shut up!” Peter yelled, “You don’t know what the fuck you’re talking about!”  
“Pete-“  
“NO! MY AUNT AND UNCLE NEVER WANT ME AROUND, YOU NEVER WANT ME AROUND, HE’S THE ONLY ONE WHO CARES ABOUT ME!!”  
“Kid, you know that’s not true.” He went to touch Peter’s shoulder but the boy ran off to his room on the floor above, “FRIDAY, get him some aspirin and water and don’t let him leave under any circumstances. Send Happy to bring his Aunt here.” He didn’t say anything else to the team as he left to call May from his lab.

May knew that Peter was going to be upstate that night, the last thing she was expecting was a phone call from Tony Stark at 1am. He didn’t tell her much, just that Happy was coming to bring her to the compound. She knew that something had to be up with Peter and tried to not panic at how upset he sounded. 

By the time she arrived at nearly 3am, all the other Avengers had returned to their quarters, Tony was sitting on the couch, nursing an empty whisky glass and looked like he’d been crying. He tried to smile at May when she sat down next to him but it came out more like a grimace.  
“What’s wrong, Tony?” She asked, struggling to not panic now.  
“What can you tell me about Skip?” that was a surprise.  
“I- Peter’s boyfriend? They’ve been together for about a year and a half but they were inseparable for years before that. Why?” She had no idea where this was going.  
“One member of the team thought it would be funny to give Peter alcohol tonight. I told them all he wasn’t allowed but he was already pretty tipsy by the time I realised.” May furrowed her brow.  
“I mean, I’m not happy, but at least this is a safe environment. I don’t understand what this has to do with Skip though.” She motioned to Tony to continue.  
“We told him we were cutting him off and he tried to say he was fine and wanted to do something stronger,” May looked at him questioningly, “ecstasy.”  
“What?”  
“Yeah, we were all pretty shocked, kid doesn’t even look like he’s drank church wine before. He- uh. He told us that he drinks and takes ecstasy with the boyfriend all the time.”  
“Oh my goodness. Thanks for telling-“  
“That’s not the worst of it. He said that-,“ Tony took a shuddering breath, “he said that Skip only gives it to him when he wants sex, and that Peter wouldn’t want to have sex with him otherwise.” Tears had started streaming down both their faces. “He ran off to his room before I could get more out of him but, I think this has been going on for a long time. I think Skip was grooming him from the beginning.” May let out a sob.  
“He’s been standoffish for so long, I always thought it was just puberty. Oh, god, I failed him!”  
“You couldn’t have known. And if you failed him, I failed him too. Maybe everyone failed him, himself included. I’m going to do everything I can to help you both with this.”  
“Thank you.” She whispered.  
“I’ll take you to his room. I’m not going to be able to sleep until that bastard is arrested so I’ll get on that. The police will probably need a statement from Peter but that can wait until at least tomorrow.” If he was shocked when May wrapped him up in a hug, he said nothing.

When Peter woke up the next morning, he thought he was in Skip’s bed, like usual. He had a worse hangover than he was used to and figured his boyfriend had gone harder than normal the night before. Then he noticed a soft hand in his and opened his eyes to see May sleeping in an armchair next to his bed. That was when he remembered what had happened the night before. He still didn’t understand why everyone was so freaked out but he knew he didn’t want to deal with it. He got up to leave the room but his door wouldn’t budge. 

May woke up to Peter arguing with FRIDAY who had been banned from letting him leave by Tony. She touched him gently on the shoulder and he jumped back, a look of venom in his eyes.  
“What are you doing here?”  
“Tony called me, he told me what happened.”  
“I don’t know why everyone is making such a big deal out of it!” he said, defensively.  
“Honey, Skip-“  
“Didn’t do anything wrong!”  
“Yes, he did, honey. You might not be able to see it yet, but he’s been hurting you for a long time.” Peter didn’t say anything, choosing instead to go back to his bed, facing the wall and ignoring her. 

He didn’t say anything when Tony came in shortly after, acting as though he didn’t know his mentor was there at all. He said nothing when the police officers came either. Tony eventually sent Wanda in to talk to him. While she was in there, May found herself sitting next to Clint who was looking rather guilty.  
“I’m really sorry, I never should’ve given him the alcohol.” He spoke finally.  
“No, you shouldn’t have,” she responded, “but is it weird that I’m grateful? If you hadn’t, he might never have talked and this would’ve gone on much longer.” He chuckled lightly at that.  
“I’m a parent too so, no, I don’t think that’s weird.” She smiled at him.  
“Well, as long as you promise not to give my underage nephew any more alcohol, all will be forgiven.” He nodded solemnly; this was not a woman he wanted to mess with.

Tony had asked Wanda to go in and work some magic on Peter. He didn’t want her to mess around too much, just enough to be able to give a testimony to the police, the emotional impact of it all could come later.

May was there when Peter made his statement, because he was a minor, but a part of her wished she hadn’t been. She’d suspected that this had started before the boys started ‘dating’, but the reality of how far it went back made her want to vomit. She was wracked with guilt. She had always assumed that her previously sweet boy’s standoffishness came from puberty, she should’ve known something else was going on. She could tell from listening to him that Peter still didn’t understand the gravity of what had been happening to him for years, she almost wished he would never have to, but she knew that wasn’t healthy. 

By the time the police finished questioning Peter, he felt numb. May was sobbing quietly next to him and he almost felt guilty; almost wanting to comfort her but still not understanding what the big deal was. The cops had gone to immediately arrest Skip on multiple charges; Tony was glad he could be charged as an adult and vowed that that monster would never see the outside of a jail cell/courtroom ever again. When they told him that, he’d thrown a pretty spectacular tantrum – his enhanced strength not helping things – he’d practically destroyed Tony’s lab. He had just been so mad. Mad at himself for slipping up and telling his secrets. Made at Clint for giving him alcohol. Mad at Wanda for getting in his head and making him talk to the cops. Mad at Tony for making her do it. Mad at May for being upset. Mad at everyone for overreacting. Mad that Skip was getting arrested when he didn’t do anything wrong. When he was done being mad, he was numb. 

Peter sat there, mutely. May apologised to Tony for the destruction but he insisted it was nothing, Peter was more important. Tony had offered to let them stay as long as they liked but May just wanted to get him home. Peter said nothing. If it weren’t for the fact that he would occasionally look at someone when they were speaking, they would’ve thought he was completely catatonic. 

Peter wasn’t talking. He didn’t even eat for the first day and a half but thanks to his enhanced metabolism he had to give up on that protest pretty quickly. When school went back the following Monday, Peter hadn’t been allowed to attend. Despite Mr Stark’s best efforts, the news had exploded over the weekend that Skip had been arrested for sexual assault and drugs charges. Thankfully, that was pretty much all that had made the news, but for anyone that knew Peter, it was enough to put things together. He’d been allowed to attend school on the Tuesday. He still wasn’t speaking at all but none of his teachers seemed willing to call on him. Not even Flash was picking on him. Ned and MJ, to their credit, tried to act normal. They’d chat about random things at the lunch table to try and distract Peter, but they couldn’t keep the worry out of their faces; he just ignored them anyway. 

Peter stayed silent. For the rest of the school week he said nothing and spoke to no one. He’d been sent to the school guidance counsellor but he’d just stared at her for the entire period. He’d also been to three sessions with a very well regarded therapist that he assumed Tony paid for, and just sat in silence. He could see that May was getting more and more worried. He didn’t care. Tony made him come out to the compound to work with him on a new suit. Peter ignored all of the Avengers and just worked idly on his web shooters. 

Flash, of all people, was the first to start to break down the walls Peter had put up around himself. Obviously sick of doing the pc thing and walking on eggshells around Peter for a week and a half, he let out a “Penis Parker” in the middle of lunch. Peter couldn’t help but smile. 

He didn’t know if Ned had sensed that something was different, but that same day the boy invited himself around to Peter’s apartment to build some Lego. As they walked home together, Ned carried the conversation. He was rambling on and on about Doctor Who, insisting that Matt Smith was the best Doctor (at least since the 2005 reboot). After listening for about 5 minutes, Peter couldn’t take it anymore, “You’re wrong, man. Tennant is way better.” Ned managed to hide his shock and instead let out a laugh. They debated back and forth until they got to Peter’s building when he fell silent again. 

“Hey May.” Ned yelled as they walked in the door.  
“Hi boys. What’s up?” she replied, glad to see that Peter was socialising a bit.  
“We’re gonna build Lego, I got a TARDIS.” Said Ned.  
“Awesome. Do you want me to make you a snack?” They both looked at Peter, not expecting him to speak but still wanting to gauge his opinion.  
“That’d be nice, thanks.” Peter muttered before leading Ned towards his bedroom. May managed to stay calm and not burst into tears until after she had text Tony to tell him that Peter was speaking again.

Things got better after that. Peter met with his therapist twice a week to discuss everything. He had finally started to accept that what Skip had done to him was wrong, but it wasn’t his fault. He knew now, objectively, that it had been wrong, but it was still hard to reconcile this with the parts of himself that still believed the things Skip told him. On the plus side, his personal life was doing a lot better. He and Ned had become really good friends now, and MJ was a part of their group most of the time, but Peter also had a little bit of a crush on her. His relationship with Tony, and most of the Avengers for that matter, was much stronger too. He was at the compound most weekends either working on suit upgrades with Tony, or training with the rest of the team. But the best part of all was how much his relationship with May had improved. Apart from Ned, she was possibly his best friend. It made him sad when he realised that he could’ve had this relationship with her for years, had it not been for Skip. He’d had a breakdown during therapy when he realised the relationship he would never have with Ben because of Skip.

The moment he realised he’d made progress was when Skip’s sentencing was handed down. Skip had been punished to the fullest extent of the law and Peter was slightly surprised to find that he was glad that Skip was being punished harshly.

Peter’s biggest revelation occurred a week before his 16th birthday and the end of sophomore year. He was on patrol when he heard a young kid crying from a nearby apartment building. Once he located the kid, he was horrified to see their babysitter forcing themselves on the child. He smashed in the window and webbed the stunned woman to the wall. Thankfully the boy’s pants were barely off his hips so it hadn’t gotten far. Spider-Man took him into another room. The boy had told him it was the first time it had happened, but he was very insistent that he didn’t want to tell anyone. SO Spider-Man took a deep breath and started telling him about how someone had hurt him like that, and that he didn’t say anything so it got worse and worse, but that when he finally told someone, they weren’t mad, just worried. It took a while but they finally decided to call his parents who rushed home immediately. 

The boy’s parents were so grateful to Spider-Man but he insisted it wasn’t a big deal. He left as soon as the police arrived to arrest the baby sitter. 

It was finally starting to hit him, just how much he’d been abused and manipulated, and he could feel himself starting to panic. He knew May was working that night so he went to the next best place. By the time he arrived on the balcony of Stark Tower he could barely breathe through the panic. He stumbled through the doors and into the living area. He ripped the mask off his head in his desperation to catch his breath but it didn’t make a difference. He could feel the tears rushing down his face but he couldn’t make them stop. He was vaguely aware of someone rushing up to him, talking to him, but he couldn’t hear over the sound of his heartbeat in his head. The person tried to guide him towards the sofa but they took about two steps before Peter finally passed out. He felt strong arms catch him as he lost consciousness. 

When he woke up, he was lying on a king sized bed. May was sleeping on the bed next to him, Tony was sleeping in an armchair next to the bed on the other side of him. He smiled to himself as he rolled over and went back to sleep; 'it’s gonna be okay.'

**Author's Note:**

> Please leave comments/kudos :)
> 
> Follow/send prompts to my instagram @everydaytomholland


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